r out of the way before she could be questioned by the police. That
act suggests two inferences. First, Mrs. Rath, as she calls herself, had
some inkling that Milly Saker saw her daughter in the hall on the
previous night, and secondly, that Mrs. Rath feared, in the light of
subsequent events, to let it be known that her daughter was seen walking
down the hall before the murder was committed. From these inferences we
may conclude that, even if the mother had no actual knowledge of the
crime, she believed that her daughter was guilty. Her subsequent actions
to-day confirm that theory in every respect. And, of course, the
recovery of this revolver and the girl's handkerchief in her mother's
rooms, where she slept last night, is the strongest possible proof that
the girl shot Mrs. Heredith."

"Of course there can be no doubt of that. It would be impossible to find
a stronger case of circumstantial evidence," said Caldew earnestly. "But
here is a piece of direct evidence. Look here!" He produced the little
brooch from his pocket and placed it on the table beside the revolver
and the handkerchief. "This is the brooch I told you about. It is the
brooch I saw in Mrs. Heredith's room which disappeared while I was
downstairs. I found it stuck in a pincushion in the next room, beside
the girl's hat. She must have realized that she dropped it in the
murdered woman's bedroom, and seized the opportunity to return for it
while I was out of the room. That is a piece of direct evidence that she
was in Mrs. Heredith's bedroom."

"So you were right about the brooch. I owe you an apology for that,
Caldew," said Merrington. He placed the little trinket in his big hand,
and turned it over with his finger. The inscription on the back caught
his eye, and he held it closer to read it. "Semper Fidelis!" he
exclaimed. "The words are typical of the girl. The wishy-washy sentiment
would appeal to her, and she's of that partly educated type which thinks
a Latin tag imposing. I wonder who gave it to her? Oh, I have it! It was
probably a gift from young Heredith, and she added the inscription on
her own account so as to enhance the value of the gift and keep her
'Faithful Always.'"

Once more Caldew reluctantly admitted to himself that Merrington's
deductions were more swift and vigorous than his own, but he was
secretly annoyed to think that the other had gained partly by guesswork
the solution of a clue which had caused him so much thought and
p